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I wonder if this is the economic trigger Pastor David Wilkerson was talking about a few years back. Erdogan is a very evil man, and there is no telling how much, or what he will lash out at during this crisis. After all, the man is trying to create a restored Ottoman Empire, and won't let an economic crisis go to waste.

That vague lifeline (whatever) Putin tossed to the Turks is very troubling. Not for the economics directly but rather a form of nefarious influence peddling. Dragging a NATO state under the realm of Soviet influence is simply too dangerous to minimize or overlook.

Barring a Russian-Turk joint military action in Europe I would guess that EU banks are shaking in their bedroom slippers at this time.

#Turkey matters: Lira crisis is becoming more & more of a problem for Europe. European banks drop on concern they may suffer heavy losses from Turkish exposure. Most at risk for #Spain's banks, but #Italy or #France have reasons to be concerned. https://www.welt.de/wirtschaft/artic...ter.shared.web … via @welt

#Turkey matters: Lira crisis is becoming more & more of a problem for Europe. European banks drop on concern they may suffer heavy losses from Turkish exposure. Most at risk for #Spain's banks, but #Italy or #France have reasons to be concerned. https://www.welt.de/wirtschaft/artic...ter.shared.web … via @welt

I didn't think there could be any more nails hammered into the Spanish coffin, but there they are.

We have about 50 B-61 nuclear gravity bombs at Incirlik Air Base stored in vaults in protective air shelters, protected by permissive action links. In the chaos of a brief coup attempt, they may have probably been secure. But against a determined host government with time....

We have about 50 B-61 nuclear gravity bombs at Incirlik Air Base stored in vaults in protective air shelters, protected by permissive action links. In the chaos of a brief coup attempt, they may have probably been secure. But against a determined host government with time....

A group of lawyers aligned to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has filed formal charges against a number of US Air Force officers who are stationed at Turkey's Incirlik Air Base. The complaint accuses them of having ties to terrorist groups, and of being in league with the banned Gulenist organization.

Since the failed 2016 military coup, Erdogan has blamed cleric Fethullah Gulen for plots against him, and has been targeting any and all perceived enemies, accusing them of being in league with Gulen. This is the first time US troops, let alone US troops inside Turkey, have faced such charges.

Analysts say they believe the charges are a direct response to last week's imposition of sanctions against two Turkish cabinet members by the US. The sanctions were imposed in protest of Turkey's detention of American pastor Andrew Brunson, who has been held since 2016 on accusations of Gulenist ties.

The criminal complaint names Cols. John C. Walker, Michael H. Manion, David Eaglen, David Trucksa, Lt. Cols. Timothy J.Cook, Mack R. Coker, and Sgts. Thomas S Cooper and Vegas M. Clark. Air Force officials said they were "aware" of the complaint but would not comment beyond that.

The Air Force also praised their relationship with "our Turkish military partners," though as US-Turkey tensions continue to rise, as they have in recent years, it's not at all clear how long the US will be able to use the Incirlik base for its military operations in the Middle East.

The lawyers, on the other hand, demanded the government halt all flights out of Incirlik to keep the US officers from fleeing the country, and called on the government to raid the base and seek to capture the officers.

* * *

[ZH: As a reminder, Incirlik is a central hub for US air power in the region and the resting place of a few dozen B-61 nuclear gravity bombs with adjustable yields. Though the bombs are securely confined to the US-controlled side of the base, regularly maintained and looked after, and at little risk of falling into enemy hands, experts have long questioned the wisdom of holding US nuclear weapons in Turkey.]

ISTANBUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Tayyip Erdogan told Turks on Friday to sell their gold and dollars to support the crumbling lira, which was in free fall as U.S. President Donald Trump escalated a feud with NATO ally Turkey by doubling tariffs on metals imports.

The lira TRYTOM=D3 has long been falling on worries about Erdogan's influence over monetary policy and worsening relations with the United States. That turned into a rout on Friday. The currency dropped as much as 18 percent at one point, the biggest one-day fall since a 2001 financial crisis in Turkey.

Reverberations spread through global markets, with European stock markets especially hit as investors took fright over banks’ exposure to Turkey. U.S. stocks were also rattled.

The lira has lost more than 40 percent this year. It hit a new record low after Trump announced he would punish Ankara in a wide-ranging dispute. He said he had authorised higher tariffs on imports from Turkey, imposing duties of 20 percent on aluminium and 50 percent on steel.

The lira, he noted on Twitter, “slides rapidly downward against our very strong Dollar!”

“Our relations with Turkey are not good at this time!” he wrote.

An important emerging market, Turkey borders Iran, Iraq and Syria and has been mostly pro-Western for decades. Financial upheaval there risks further destabilizing an already volatile region.

Without naming countries, Erdogan said supporters of a failed military coup two years ago, which Ankara says was organised by a U.S.-based Muslim cleric, were attacking Turkey in new ways since his re-election two months ago.

The new duties on Turkey are double the level that Trump imposed in March on steel and aluminium imports from a range of countries. The White House said he had authorised them under a section of U.S. trade law that allows for tariffs on national security grounds.

Turkey’s trade ministry said the tariffs were against World Trade Organisation rules.

FOCUS ON PASTOR

While Turkey and the United States are at odds over a host of issues, the most pressing disagreement for Trump has been the fate of American Christian pastor Andrew Brunson, who is on trial on terrorism charges for allegedly supporting a group that Ankara blames for a failed coup in 2016. He denies the charges.
Turkish officials held talks in Washington this week but there was no breakthrough.

The Turkish crisis set off a wave of selling across emerging market assets, reviving the spectre of contagion that has been the sector’s Achilles heel for decades.

The lira sell-off deepened concern over whether over-indebted Turkish companies will be able to pay back loans taken out in euros and dollars after years of overseas borrowing to fund a construction boom under Erdogan.

The president, who says a shadowy “interest rate lobby” and Western credit ratings agencies are attempting to bring down Turkey’s economy, appealed to his countrymen’s patriotism.

“If there is anyone who has dollars or gold under their pillows, they should go exchange it for liras at our banks. This is a national, domestic battle,” he told a crowd in the northeastern city of Bayburt.

“Some countries have engaged in behaviour that protects coup plotters and knows no laws or justice,” he said. “Relations with countries who behave like this have reached a point beyond salvaging,” said Erdogan, who warned of “economic war.”

Turkey, home to the Incirlik air base which is used by U.S. forces in the Middle East, has been a NATO member since the 1950s. It is host to an X-band radar, a critical part of the Western alliance’s missile defense system again Iran.

Ivo Daalder, a former U.S. ambassador to NATO and now president of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs think tank, said Turkey could grind decision-making at NATO’s headquarters in Brussels to a halt if the dispute with Trump got out of hand.

“Also completely underestimated is Turkey’s capacity to effectively shut down everything that happens in Brussels if they want to, because Brussels works on consensus and nothing, literally nothing happens without consensus,” he said.

(Turkish banks' external assets and liabilities: tmsnrt.rs/2McsLts)

COUP ALLEGATIONS

Although Erdogan struck a defiant tone, his foreign ministry called for diplomacy and dialogue to solve problems with Washington and Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan said “we implore President Trump to return to the negotiating table.”

Ankara wants the United States to extradite Fethullah Gulen, a Pennsylvania-based cleric who Turkish authorities say masterminded the coup attempt in which 250 people were killed. Gulen denies the allegation.

Brunson, an evangelical Presbyterian from North Carolina, was jailed for allegedly supporting a group that Turkey blames for the failed coup and was moved from prison to house arrest in July.

His cause resonates with Trump’s Christian conservative supporters, who could be influential as Republicans seek to retain control of Congress in midterm elections in November.

Jay Sekulow, an attorney for Trump who is also representing Brunson’s family, told talk-show host and political commentator Sean Hannity’s radio program on Friday: “We’re close to getting a resolution in that case.” He offered no further details.

Erdogan enjoys the support of many Turks even though food, rent and fuel prices have all surged.

Some economists were unimpressed by the government’s handling of the crisis.

“Confidence needs to be regained. It is obvious how it will be done: since the final decision-maker of all policies in the new regime is the president, the responsibility of regaining confidence is on his shoulders,” said Seyfettin Gursel, a professor at Turkey’s Bahcesehir University.

(Emerging market currencies slide: tmsnrt.rs/2vzelu5)

Additional reporting by Susan Heavey, Matt Spetalnick, Yara Bayoumy and David Brunnstrom in Washington and Tuvan Gumrukcu in Ankara; Writing by David Stamp and Alistair Bell; Editing by Dominic Evans, Mark Trevelyan and Frances Kerry

Investing.com - Gold prices traded higher on Friday as investors flocked to safe-haven assets while U.S. President Donald Trump announced the implementation of higher tariffs on Turkey.

At 11:32 AM ET (15:32 GMT), gold futures for December delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $1.55, or 0.13%, to $1,213.93 a troy ounce.

“I have just authorized a doubling of tariffs on steel and aluminum with respect to Turkey as their currency, the Turkish lira, slides rapidly downward against our very strong dollar!” Trump proclaimed via his Twitter account, noting that the tariff on aluminum would now be 20%, while the levy on steel would rise to 50%.
“Our relations with Turkey are not good at this time!” he emphasized.

The tweet sent markets reeling as the selloff in the Turkish lira deepened, falling as much as 20% against the dollar at the intraday low.

Equities were hit, particularly in Europe, where market participants worried over banks’ exposure to Turkey.

But the risk-off sentiment spread to U.S. stocks as well, as investors opted to move to safe-haven assets such as gold.

Investors seek out gold as a store of value during times of political or economic uncertainty.

Capping gains in the precious metal was further dollar strength, with the greenback at a 14-month high against major rivals.

Inflation data painted a mixed picture as the headline consumer price index unexpectedly held steady at 2.9%, but the core reading, that excludes food and energy costs, registered a surprise acceleration to 2.4%.

The data supports the case for the Federal Reserve to move ahead with plans to raise interest rates twice more this year. Rising interest rates dampen demand for gold which is a non-yield bearing asset.

The wonder of our time isn’t how angry we are at politics and politicians; it’s how little we’ve done about it. - Fran Porretto
-http://bastionofliberty.blogspot.com/2016/10/a-wholly-rational-hatred.html

If there is anyone who has dollars or gold under their pillows, they should go exchange it for liras at our banks. This is a national, domestic battle,” he told a crowd in the northeastern city of Bayburt.

Hope he holds his breath till that happens.

The wonder of our time isn’t how angry we are at politics and politicians; it’s how little we’ve done about it. - Fran Porretto
-http://bastionofliberty.blogspot.com/2016/10/a-wholly-rational-hatred.html

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - President Tayyip Erdogan told Turks to exchange gold and hard currency into lira on Friday as part of a “national battle” against economic enemies he said have irreparably ruptured ties with Ankara.

The lira TRYTOM=D3 has now lost around 40 percent this year on worries about Erdogan's influence over monetary policy and worsening relations with the United States - a relentless slide which turned to meltdown on Friday.

President Donald Trump stepped up the pressure by doubling tariffs on Turkish metal imports, in the latest round of a dispute focused around the terrorism trial in Turkey of a U.S. evangelical pastor whose freedom Washington is demanding.

The two countries are also divided over the detention of three locally employed U.S. consular staff, Washington’s sanctions on Iran, Turkey’s plans to buy a Russian missile defense system, and their military interventions in Syria.

In a day of extraordinary volatility the lira lost as much as 20 percent, crashing to a record low of 7 to the dollar, before paring losses to trade at 6.36 at 1513 GMT.
“The dollar cannot block our path. Don’t worry,” Erdogan told a crowd in the northeastern city of Bayburt.

“However, I say it once again from here, if there is anyone who has dollars or gold under their pillows, they should go exchange it for liras at our banks. This is a national, domestic battle,” he said.

“This will be my people’s response to those who have waged an economic war against us.”

Erdogan’s comments offered no support for the currency, which fell as he spoke. A nearly hour-long presentation on Turkey’s new economic policy by Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak - Erdogan’s son-in-law - also did little to limit the currency’s free-fall.

Without naming countries, Erdogan said supporters of a failed military coup two years ago, which Ankara says was organized by a U.S.-based Muslim cleric, were attacking Turkey in new ways since his re-election two months ago.
“Some countries have engaged in behavior that protects coup plotters and knows no laws or justice,” Erdogan said. “Relations with countries who behave like this have reached a point beyond salvaging.”

Turkey was facing artificial financial volatility, Erdogan said, and people should look to the “big picture” instead of foreign exchange prices.

Turkey had made important progress with other countries, he said, naming Iran, Russia, China and “some European countries”, Erdogan said, adding that increasing production, exports and employment was the best response to the country’s challenges.

“Don’t get too excited...You will not be able to topple this nation,” he told the crowd of supporters in Bayburt.

As lira plummets, Trump escalates Turkish feud

Not everyone in Turkey shared Erdogan’s confidence. The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, said imprudent government policies meant Turkey had to borrow to pay off the interest on existing debt.

#Erdogan is no #Macri - he is ideologically stuck to the econ growth model that built his political dynasty. #Turkey will be loathe to turn to politically toxic IMF. Look for negotiations over currency swaps with #BRICS, financial assistance talks w/#China, maybe even #Qatar

· BBVA, UniCredit, BNP seen as particularly exposed, paper says
· Lira sank more than 3% to record low against dollar Friday

The European Central Bank has grown concerned about the exposure of some euro zone banks to Turkey following the lira’s plunge, the Financial Times reported.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA, UniCredit SpA and BNP Paribas SA are particularly exposed after the Turkish currency lost more than a third of its value this year, the newspaper reported, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter.

The ECB’s Single Supervisory Mechanism has begun over the past couple of months to look more closely at European banks’ ties to the country, the FT said, adding that the watchdog doesn’t see the situation as critical yet. The risk is that Turkish borrowers may not be hedged against the lira’s weakness and could start to default on foreign-currency loans, the newspaper said.

The lira sank more than 3 percent to a record low against the dollar Friday, as concern about souring relations with the U.S. and runaway inflation overshadowed the nation’s plans to stem a market rout.

BBVA, UniCredit and BNP Paribas all declined to comment on the central bank’s concerns, along with the ECB, the FT said.

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - President Tayyip Erdogan told Turks to exchange gold and hard currency into lira on Friday as part of a “national battle” against economic enemies he said have irreparably ruptured ties with Ankara.

The lira TRYTOM=D3 has now lost around 40 percent this year on worries about Erdogan's influence over monetary policy and worsening relations with the United States - a relentless slide which turned to meltdown on Friday.

President Donald Trump stepped up the pressure by doubling tariffs on Turkish metal imports, in the latest round of a dispute focused around the terrorism trial in Turkey of a U.S. evangelical pastor whose freedom Washington is demanding.

The two countries are also divided over the detention of three locally employed U.S. consular staff, Washington’s sanctions on Iran, Turkey’s plans to buy a Russian missile defense system, and their military interventions in Syria.

In a day of extraordinary volatility the lira lost as much as 20 percent, crashing to a record low of 7 to the dollar, before paring losses to trade at 6.36 at 1513 GMT.
“The dollar cannot block our path. Don’t worry,” Erdogan told a crowd in the northeastern city of Bayburt.

“However, I say it once again from here, if there is anyone who has dollars or gold under their pillows, they should go exchange it for liras at our banks. This is a national, domestic battle,” he said.

“This will be my people’s response to those who have waged an economic war against us.”

Erdogan’s comments offered no support for the currency, which fell as he spoke. A nearly hour-long presentation on Turkey’s new economic policy by Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak - Erdogan’s son-in-law - also did little to limit the currency’s free-fall.

Without naming countries, Erdogan said supporters of a failed military coup two years ago, which Ankara says was organized by a U.S.-based Muslim cleric, were attacking Turkey in new ways since his re-election two months ago.
“Some countries have engaged in behavior that protects coup plotters and knows no laws or justice,” Erdogan said. “Relations with countries who behave like this have reached a point beyond salvaging.”

Turkey was facing artificial financial volatility, Erdogan said, and people should look to the “big picture” instead of foreign exchange prices.

Turkey had made important progress with other countries, he said, naming Iran, Russia, China and “some European countries”, Erdogan said, adding that increasing production, exports and employment was the best response to the country’s challenges.

“Don’t get too excited...You will not be able to topple this nation,” he told the crowd of supporters in Bayburt.

As lira plummets, Trump escalates Turkish feud

Not everyone in Turkey shared Erdogan’s confidence. The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, said imprudent government policies meant Turkey had to borrow to pay off the interest on existing debt.

I wonder if this is the economic trigger Pastor David Wilkerson was talking about a few years back. Erdogan is a very evil man, and there is no telling how much, or what he will lash out at during this crisis. After all, the man is trying to create a restored Ottoman Empire, and won't let an economic crisis go to waste.

edited -
Nevermind - I was going to bring up something about David Wilkerson but it's off topic (belong more under the religion forum)

It is all bullshit, a play on stuff. I can remember China devaluing by 30% overnight. Nothing happened internationally. So they either use the devaluation to do something or shut up, it is all just a matter of politics.

Trump is being a bit crazy stirring the pot as if Turkey goes probably Europe will follow.

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